A 12-YEAR-OLD boy has been kept at home by his parents for more than a year because he didn’t get a place in their school of choice.

Jacob Camilleri’s mum and dad could now face court action as he has not been to school since last July and is not home-tutored.

But mum Helen, 42, and dad Vincent, 39, of Birchgrove, Cardiff, said today they will keep him away until he is accepted by a school they approve of.

They believe he was wrongly denied a place at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic High School in Cyncoed, Cardiff, where his brother Alexander, 17, and sister Dominique, 21, were both pupils.

Mr Camilleri, a plumber, said: “He isn’t going to any other school. I don’t care if I have to go to prison.”

His wife, a post office clerk, said: “I don’t care what they do. They can take me to court. But he’s not going anywhere other than Corpus Christi or, at a push, Cardiff High.”

Mrs Camilleri said education officials had not visited her home to check on Jacob’s welfare until the Echo inquired about his situation last week – nearly a year after he left Ton-Yr-Ywen Primary School, Birchgrove, Cardiff.

She claimed she applied for Jacob’s place at the school, but headteacher David Stone denied receiving her application.

“Corpus Christi received no application for Jacob Camilleri to attend school but he arrived here on the first day of term last September,” Mr Stone said.

“Unfortunately, the school was already full and as no application was received, no place had been allocated.”

The family, of Heol Gwent, applied to the school immediately but their application was rejected.

An appeal was lodged but it too was rejected.

Jacob was invited to apply to other Catholic schools but his parents considered them too far away or “not good enough”.

A council spokeswoman said it issued the couple with three warnings to enrol Jacob in another school.

If this final warning is ignored, they could face criminal prosecution.

The spokeswoman said the local authority was “concerned” Jacob was not going to school.

“It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure school attendance,” she said.